[doorbell ringing] (children) ♪Hello!

Hello♪ ♪Won't you be my friend?♪ ♪Hello!

Hello!♪ ♪Let's say it again.♪ ♪Hello!

Hello!♪ ♪Won't you be my friend?♪ ♪Hello!

Hello!♪ ♪Now you are my friend.♪ ♪♪♪ ♪H-E-L-L-O♪ ♪That's a word we all should know♪ ♪H-E-L-L-O♪ ♪You can say it.♪ ♪Just say hello.♪ ♪♪♪ Hey!

There's Mr. Chuck!

Well, hello, friend!

Hello, Mr. Chuck!

There's Mr. Chuck [jungle noises] Shhh.

Be very, very quiet.

We don't want to frighten the animals.

What animals?

Well, I'm pretending to be an explorer.

And I'm looking for animals.

See, I've got my hat.

And my camera.

And I'm going to take pictures of all of the animals I see.

♪♪♪ Oh, look over there.

[camera shutter clicking] A snake.

[snake hissing] ♪♪♪ Look closely over there.

[camera shutter clicking] A tiny frog.

[frog croaking] ♪♪♪ Oh, and look down on the ground.

[camera shutter clicking] I think it's a salamander.

You know, it's so much fun to use your imagination and pretend about things.

♪♪♪ Oh!

Over there!

I think that's the biggest bug I've ever seen.

[camera shutter clicking] But you know, you don't have to dress up to use your imagination.

No.

You can sit right where you are and just think about many different things.

In fact, I think I'll just sit right here and think about being a circus performer.

Yes.

A circus performer.

Walking the high wire way up in the air.

♪♪♪ [crowd oohing and aahing] ♪♪♪ [crowd oohing and ahhing] [applause] But of course, I'm not really a circus performer or an explorer.

But it's fun to pretend.

(children) Hmmm.

♪♪♪ P-R-E Ahh!

Yeah, right.

At least I got it right the first time.

Pretend!

P-R-E-T-E-N-D Pretend!

♪♪♪ (male #1) ♪I want to be just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to be just like you someday.♪ ♪I want to look just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to look just like you someday.♪ ♪♪♪ ♪I want to be just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to walk, and talk, and look, and be just like you.♪ Have you ever imagined yourself doing something you already know how to do better than you really can do it?

Do you know what I'm talking about?

For example, you know how to run, right?

Well, have you ever imagined yourself running in a big race, like the Olympics, and winning it?

Or, maybe when you're out throwing a ball in the yard you've imagined yourself as a professional baseball player?

Hitting a homerun that wins the game.

[crowd cheering] Hey!

Well, I've always had a dream kind of like that.

See that guitar?

I've always wanted to play the guitar and a friend gave me this one.

Oh, I've fooled around with it a bit, but I really can't play anything yet.

[strums guitar] Sometimes though I like to sit and imagine that I can play really well.

You know, like at a concert.

[crowd applauding] ♪♪♪ I'd like to be able to play like that.

But of course, I can't.

[plays off key chord] And you know, I'll never be able to unless I practice a lot more.

A whole lot more.

And take some lessons so I can learn to play really well.

You know, that's the difference between being able to do something and just wishing you could.

Oh, you can do just about anything you can imagine yourself doing, but you have to work and practice.

And keep learning until you get it right.

[strums guitar] ♪♪♪ (children) An eagle.

[eagle screeching] Flying!

That looks like an airplane flying upside down.

Robot!

He's doing his cartwheels.

That's his blue hands.

We have yellow, blue and red!

That looks like a man going into a tunnel.

Tiger!

[tiger roaring] A butterfly.

A fly.

No, it's a glow fly.

They light up in the night.

[fly buzzing] A clown.

And they've fallen down and their leg's right here.

That's the head.

Have you ever wanted to be on TV?

Well, with just a little imagination and a little help from a grown up you can.

How?

By making your own television.

Like this one.

Take a large cardboard box and get an adult to cut an opening in the side of the box.

Then you can paint it.

You might even want to glue on a couple of lids from plastic soda bottles to look like knobs.

If you use a box that's large enough you can get inside and pretend to be on TV.

♪♪♪ Or you could use puppets or small toys or dolls to put on a show.

Use them to act out stories you already know or make up your own story.

Friends, it's fun to use your imagination.

And it's fun to be on TV.

Now you can do both.

I want to be a policeman.

I want to be a fireman.

I want to be me.

I want to be Batman!

And I want to be Batman!

Batman like me?

(male #1) ♪I want to be just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to be just like you someday.♪ ♪I want to look just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to look just like you someday.♪ ♪♪♪ ♪I want to be just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to walk, and talk, and look and be just like you.♪ Guess what I am?

[sawing] What am I doing?

I'm sawing a piece of wood.

[hammering] Now what am I doing?

[hammering] I'm hammering the nails into the wood.

I'm building something.

Can you think of someone who uses wood to build things?

A carpenter.

That's right.

A carpenter uses a saw and a hammer and nails to build houses and other things.

♪♪♪ Now what am I?

♪♪♪ Can you tell what my arm is supposed to be?

♪♪♪ Does it look like an elephant's trunk?

I hope so, because I'm pretending to be an elephant.

[elephant trumpeting] ♪♪♪ What do you think I am?

Can you guess?

I'm a plant.

Growing out of the ground.

Do you like to pretend like that?

Do you ever pretend to be something or someone you're not?

Do you ever pretend to be a superhero?

(male #2) Do you think a normal person can be a hero?

Yeah!

(male #2) Well what does a normal person have to do to be a hero?

Well, he has to save people.

He has to fly with jet boots.

Do you know who I think are the real super heroes?

I think people like moms and dads are the true superheroes.

They work hard every day to care for you.

To help you grow.

They find time to do the shopping and the laundry, and the housework.

And even when they're tired after a hard day of work they read to you, or play with you, or cook meals for you to eat.

Yep.

They're the people who make your life better.

The people who love you.

Your parents.

They are the real superheroes.

My mom and dad are heroes because they protect me.

(male #1) ♪I want to be just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to be just like you someday.♪ ♪I want to look just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to look just like you someday.♪ ♪♪♪ ♪Look, ma!

No hands!♪ ♪I want to be just like you.♪ ♪Just you and nobody else but you.♪ ♪I want to walk and talk and look and be just like you.♪ On today's menu, friends, we have...one...two...three... four...five...six...seven... eight...nine...and ten.

Would you like fries with that?

(male #1) ♪I see your face.♪ ♪What a beautiful face.♪ ♪I see your face - it's a lot like mine.♪ ♪I see your face.♪ ♪What a loverly face.♪ ♪I see your face - it's a lot like mine.♪ ♪You have two eyes.♪ ♪And I have two eyes.♪ ♪You have two ears.♪ ♪I have two ears.♪ [nasally] ♪You've got a nose.♪ ♪And I've got a nose.♪ ♪I see your face - it's a lot like mine.♪ ♪I see your face.♪ ♪What a wonderful face.♪ ♪I see your face - it's a lot like mine.♪ ♪I see your face - it's a lot like mine.♪ ♪♪♪ [applause] Using our imagination is not an inborn talent that only a few of us have.

We can all come up with new and fun ways to do things with our children.

Sometimes it just takes a few good ideas to get started and if we set an example by using our imagination, our children will follow our lead.

Here's Edwin Wilkins with a couple of ideas for activities we as parents can have at the ready for our children.

I believe that parents should always have something in their pocket, purse, or in their home that they can entertain a child with for at least 20 minutes.

I also believe that you shouldn't have to go broke just to have fun.

And speaking of saving money, the first game we're going to play is called "See Ya."

This game is played with two children or more.

They're going to have a seat on the floor with one hand on the floor as close as possible to the sock without touching it.

The parent will call one of the colors and the first child that grabs the color that the parent calls will be the winner.

Here's an example.

Blue.

See ya!

Place the sock back, place your hand back, and you can play this game as many times as you like.

Ask a child can you blow this paper out of my hand before I close it?

Here's an example.

[blows] Let's try it again.

[blows] Were you able to blow this paper out of my hand?

If not, maybe it's because you were doing too many body movements which let me know that you were about to blow.

Such as hunching your shoulders, leaning forward, or making a lot of noises when you were inhaling.

Now let's try it again without making so many body movements.

Let's eliminate those unnecessary body movements.

Here's an example.

[blows] Let's try it again.

[blows] Excellent.

The purpose of this game is to help teach a child good body control.

The purpose of all the games we've played is to help build self-esteem, hand-eye coordination, communication skills, and confidence.

It also helps provide good quality time with your children.

I've had so much fun imagining and pretending with you today.

But it's time for me to go.

Before we do, think about this.

Imagining and pretending are great.

It's through your imagination that you come up with a lot of really terrific ideas and things you'd like to do.

But imagination is not enough.

If you want to do something that you've always dreamed about, you have to work hard, practice, and learn.

That's the only way to really make your dreams come true.

Well, until next time.

So long.

♪♪♪